Do-it-Yourself tips on Air Conditioner Maintenance

Spring is right around the corner!As you’re pulling out the lawn chairs and dusting off the grill, don’t forget to take a few minutes and prepare your air conditioner for the upcoming warm weather too. Here are a few things you can do to get your system ready to run more efficiently. Before doing any maintenance or handling your air conditioner, be sure the power is off!

Make sure to remove any leaves or vegetation around your air conditioner unit.You don’t want any debris to get pulled into the unit when it’s running. Be sure to check that the fan blades are clean as well.

When is the last time you changed your filter? Changing the filter on your unit is crucial to keeping your system running efficiently and effectively. Ideally, you should change a standard 1-3″ air filter every 30-60 days. But this depends on how dirty your filter gets and the air pollution around your home. Do you have pets? Allergies? What kind of filter are you using? These are questions to ask when deciding how often to change out the filter, but a good rule of thumb is to change the filter as often as it’s dirty.

Where is your condensing unit located?A simple solution to improving your ac system’s cooling function would be to ensure the unit is located in the shade. If it’s located in direct sunlight, it might be a good idea to plant a shade tree or bush nearby to increase the efficiency of the unit.

Do you have upper and lower cold air returns in your house? As the weather gets warmer, close the lower cold air returns and open the upper ones to allow the cold air to drop through the house as the air conditioner runs.

Give your system a test run before the warm weather hits. This way, you can find any issues early and have them fixed before the summer rush.

Schedule an Air Conditioner clean & check with a trusted HVAC company in your area. Most companies offer a complete inspection of your air conditioner and all the components to make sure everything is working properly. A small investment in an annual tune-up will be worth it in the long run.

These simple tips take just a little time to do, but will benefit you and your family by keeping your air conditioner system running and peak efficiency and providing the comfort you expect from your system. To schedule a service call or a tune-up in the Clark County area of Wisconsin, you can visit http://accurateairsolutions.com/schedule-a-service.html or call us at 715-267-7800.

The Venstar ColorTouch Thermostat is packed with features for comfort and convenience

With all the new gadgets coming out these days, you might be surprised to know that now you can connect to your thermostat via wi-fi to manage your home temperature remotely. One thermostat that’s getting a lot of attention is the Venstar ColorTouch Thermostat. It’s a programmable, touchscreen thermostat with quite a number of appealing features. Customizable photo slideshows, interchangeable face plates to match your home’s color scheme, and a temperature scheduler that can be programmed for up to four periods each day are a few perks that come with this eye-catching little gadget. There’s even an option to password protect the thermostat’s screen, limiting access to kids or guests.

This programmable thermostat can reduce energy costs by allowing a homeowner to customize their temperature settings throughout the day and night. It comes built-in with more than a dozen nature and holiday themes on a full color high-resolution digital screen. You can turn the thermostat into a digital photo frame and add up to 100 of your own custom photos as a slideshow or background wallpaper. What other thermostat does that?

The Venstar ColorTouch also has one other neat little feature: a night dimmer. You can adjust the brightness of the thermostat’s screen depending on the time of day. Don’t like that annoying bright screen at night? You can change the settings to automatically dim the screen at night.

If you happen to be interested in seeing how much energy your home is using, you can access the Energy Usage Information screen on the ColorTouch Thermostat to view visual graphs and data on the last seven days of heating and cooling in your home. This is also a great way to tell if your system may need maintenance.

The latest feature that has been added to the Venstar ColorTouch thermostat recently is the addition of the Skyport Wi-Fi key. This additional software comes with a mobile app that allows you to log in on virtually an mobile device and control your thermostat settings, view alerts or the current home temperature, see the weather and even send text messages to your own thermostat!